Eric Michael Garcia
@ericmgarcia.bsky.social
Washington Bureau chief at The Independent, MSNOW Columnist. Author: We’re Not Broken. Tar Heel. He/Him Eric.garcia@the-independent.com
Pinned
ICE dragged me from my car after I told them I’m autistic.
Exclusive Details: Aliya Rahman speaks to Eric Garcia about her ordeals — on the streets of Minneapolis, in a grim ICE detention center where she was mocked over her condition and through the public t...
www.independent.co.uk
I spoke with Aliya Rahman, the autistic woman whom ICE ripped out of her car, about her experience of being in a viral video, what she experienced in detention and why she thinks we might be in bigger trouble in the future.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
*Clears throat*
Folks....
Folks....
Ok, the big one on her ambitions: "And so I think oftentimes the discussions about speculation, etc, are so narrow, because frankly I think the ambitions of a progressive movement goes so far beyond elected office." That's... not a "no" about 2028.
February 15, 2026 at 7:12 PM
*Clears throat*
Folks....
Folks....
FWIW, the only person who brought up housing affordability to me when it came to Latino voters who broke for Trump? AOC. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Progressive Democrats try and chart a path after Trump
Progressives talk about appealing to the working class. What policies they will deploy is not entirely clear yet, Eric Garcia reports
www.independent.co.uk
February 15, 2026 at 6:41 PM
FWIW, the only person who brought up housing affordability to me when it came to Latino voters who broke for Trump? AOC. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
I keep saying this, but some of y'all keep dooming and saying that somehow Trump can somehow stop the new session of Congress or Johnson can take steps to stop it. Nope. That's not how it works. (always pay attention to @kristin-wilson.bsky.social). Trump is not a god-emperor.
Remember that the current House essentially dissolves (they adjourn sine die) on January 3, 2026 right before noon. When they gavel back in, the House Clerk is in charge until the House elects a Speaker.
Point being, those in charge right now will not be running the show on Jan 3.
Point being, those in charge right now will not be running the show on Jan 3.
February 15, 2026 at 6:35 PM
I keep saying this, but some of y'all keep dooming and saying that somehow Trump can somehow stop the new session of Congress or Johnson can take steps to stop it. Nope. That's not how it works. (always pay attention to @kristin-wilson.bsky.social). Trump is not a god-emperor.
AOC speaking in Berlin on Bad Bunny's performance at the Halftime show:
"Just putting those values on television, felt counter cultural rebellious resistant, and that I think speaks so much to the moment that we are in that it was defiant."
"Just putting those values on television, felt counter cultural rebellious resistant, and that I think speaks so much to the moment that we are in that it was defiant."
February 15, 2026 at 6:29 PM
AOC speaking in Berlin on Bad Bunny's performance at the Halftime show:
"Just putting those values on television, felt counter cultural rebellious resistant, and that I think speaks so much to the moment that we are in that it was defiant."
"Just putting those values on television, felt counter cultural rebellious resistant, and that I think speaks so much to the moment that we are in that it was defiant."
Wasatch County’s Republican Party chair is facing felony child abuse charges for allegedly “waterboarding” a 16-year-old relative.
www.kpcw.org/wasatch-coun...
www.kpcw.org/wasatch-coun...
Wasatch County GOP chair charged with felony child abuse
The chair of the Wasatch County Republican Party, 54-year-old David Nephi Johnson, has been charged with aggravated child abuse after an alleged incident in January.
www.kpcw.org
February 15, 2026 at 6:04 AM
Wasatch County’s Republican Party chair is facing felony child abuse charges for allegedly “waterboarding” a 16-year-old relative.
www.kpcw.org/wasatch-coun...
www.kpcw.org/wasatch-coun...
Man, I remember when former Republican state house speaker Joe Straus said he opposed trans bathroom bans because “want the suicide of a single Texan on my hands.” How things change.
they literally do, though. Texans voted for a Republican-controlled state government which imposed a bathroom ban. in the real world, they chose this.
February 15, 2026 at 5:55 AM
Man, I remember when former Republican state house speaker Joe Straus said he opposed trans bathroom bans because “want the suicide of a single Texan on my hands.” How things change.
There are Reddit autistic men and there are 4Chan autistic men. I will not be elaborating further.
February 15, 2026 at 5:46 AM
There are Reddit autistic men and there are 4Chan autistic men. I will not be elaborating further.
Why is Chris Coons in Munich instead of getting home in time for Valentine’s Day?
February 14, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Why is Chris Coons in Munich instead of getting home in time for Valentine’s Day?
If he wins his primary and general, Briscoe Cain would be the first openly #ActuallyAutistic member of Congress.
From the @houstonchronicle.com editorial board: Briscoe Cain for U.S. House District 9 in Republican primary
www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/endo...
www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/endo...
Briscoe Cain for U.S. House District 9 in Republican primary | Endorsement
GOP voters should back Briscoe Cain, an eccentric homegrown fixture for this unique district, parts of which he has represented for almost a decade.
www.houstonchronicle.com
February 14, 2026 at 5:25 PM
If he wins his primary and general, Briscoe Cain would be the first openly #ActuallyAutistic member of Congress.
Reposted by Eric Michael Garcia
A woman thought she was bathing alone in her apartment. When she looked out the window a police drone was staring back
Woman taking bath spots Denver police drone right outside her window
Denver police admitted its drone was on the way to the scene of a call and was part of a four-month first responder program
trib.al
February 14, 2026 at 2:33 AM
A woman thought she was bathing alone in her apartment. When she looked out the window a police drone was staring back
Reposted by Eric Michael Garcia
The officer who fatally hit her, who was going 3x the speed limit and not continuously sounding his siren as required, and who had other collisions on his record, "received a traffic citation for negligent driving and paid a $5,000 fine."
"'She is dead,'" Officer Auderer told Officer Solan, before bursting out laughing.
"'No, it’s a regular person,' Officer Auderer said, adding: 'Yeah, just write a check — $11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.'"
"'No, it’s a regular person,' Officer Auderer said, adding: 'Yeah, just write a check — $11,000. She was 26, anyway. She had limited value.'"
Seattle to Pay $29 Million to Family of Woman Fatally Struck by Police S.U.V.
www.nytimes.com
February 13, 2026 at 3:48 PM
The officer who fatally hit her, who was going 3x the speed limit and not continuously sounding his siren as required, and who had other collisions on his record, "received a traffic citation for negligent driving and paid a $5,000 fine."
Super cool thread on women who built the postwar liberal order.
Women also built postwar world: UN (Dr Esther Brunauer forced out of State Dept work on UN/UNESCO by McCarthy), UN human rights dec (E Roosevelt), IMF/Bretton Woods, implementing Marshall Plan, Undersec/Def Anna Rosenberg rec'd key GI Bill pieces/insisted on desegregating military base schools...
February 14, 2026 at 3:35 AM
Super cool thread on women who built the postwar liberal order.
Reposted by Eric Michael Garcia
👀 A federal judge has ordered the disclosure of a roster of DOGE employees and affiliates, as well as a text message revealing a top NEH official’s views on “woke” and “progressive” grants. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
February 14, 2026 at 1:43 AM
👀 A federal judge has ordered the disclosure of a roster of DOGE employees and affiliates, as well as a text message revealing a top NEH official’s views on “woke” and “progressive” grants. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
"What's my incentive to vote for anything?" Massie said to Axios recently. And asked by Axios on Wednesday if Johnson had his back, Massie replied, "No."
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/t...
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/t...
The Republican who Mike Johnson can't ever count on
"What's my incentive to vote for anything?" Massie said to Axios.
www.axios.com
February 14, 2026 at 2:09 AM
"What's my incentive to vote for anything?" Massie said to Axios recently. And asked by Axios on Wednesday if Johnson had his back, Massie replied, "No."
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/t...
www.axios.com/2026/02/12/t...
People should not be surprised that someone like AOC talks about the international liberal order. After all, a progressive Democrat from New York helped build the postwar liberal order.
February 14, 2026 at 1:45 AM
People should not be surprised that someone like AOC talks about the international liberal order. After all, a progressive Democrat from New York helped build the postwar liberal order.
Reposted by Eric Michael Garcia
Yet another way Trump is hurting our standing in the world, in addition to costing us billions in tourism dollars by shutting out visitors, is by crushing the power of the American passport and making it harder for his own citizens to travel. My latest: www.cntraveler.com/story/the-am...
The American Passport Is Losing Its Power
As the Trump Administration makes it more difficult for people to visit the US, other nations are starting to respond in kind.
www.cntraveler.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Yet another way Trump is hurting our standing in the world, in addition to costing us billions in tourism dollars by shutting out visitors, is by crushing the power of the American passport and making it harder for his own citizens to travel. My latest: www.cntraveler.com/story/the-am...
We talk a lot about how the tech bros moved right because of Covid. The Epstein files showed elites HATED #MeToo and as @lebassett.bsky.social has written, Trump's election was very much an attempt to exact revenge on #MeToo
February 13, 2026 at 11:26 PM
We talk a lot about how the tech bros moved right because of Covid. The Epstein files showed elites HATED #MeToo and as @lebassett.bsky.social has written, Trump's election was very much an attempt to exact revenge on #MeToo
Reposted by Eric Michael Garcia
"The abolition of gender studies is a way of further guaranteeing impunity to the elite men whose contempt for and exploitation of women and girls apparently knew no bounds"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Gender studies courses are shutting down across the US. The Epstein files reveal why | Joan Wallach Scott
Texas A&M University is the latest school to end women’s and gender studies programs and teaching race. We know why
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:26 PM
"The abolition of gender studies is a way of further guaranteeing impunity to the elite men whose contempt for and exploitation of women and girls apparently knew no bounds"
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
👀 AOC uses part of what she told The Munich Security Conference in her latest fundraising email, saying "we have to have a working class centered politics if we are going to succeed, and also if we are going to stave off the scourges of authoritarianism."
February 13, 2026 at 11:14 PM
👀 AOC uses part of what she told The Munich Security Conference in her latest fundraising email, saying "we have to have a working class centered politics if we are going to succeed, and also if we are going to stave off the scourges of authoritarianism."
AOC and Gretchen Whitmer on a panel at the Munich Security Conference. We all this foreshadowing.
February 13, 2026 at 11:04 PM
AOC and Gretchen Whitmer on a panel at the Munich Security Conference. We all this foreshadowing.
The Friday Breakdown: Typically when a politician gives a speech, they are laying out their worldview and larger ideology. It's often a tea leaf they want to run for president. So is AOC teasing a run for president? Or something more important?
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
AOC wants the Democrats to take her seriously. Why Munich could launch her rebirth
Once seen as an insurgent, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become a team player for the Democratic Party, Eric Garcia writes. Now, she wants to remake what that team looks like
www.independent.co.uk
February 13, 2026 at 10:53 PM
The Friday Breakdown: Typically when a politician gives a speech, they are laying out their worldview and larger ideology. It's often a tea leaf they want to run for president. So is AOC teasing a run for president? Or something more important?
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Trump threatens to present an executive order on voter ID if it can’t pass Congress
February 13, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Trump threatens to present an executive order on voter ID if it can’t pass Congress
Again, this is for military families in Fort Bragg. This is ostensibly a military event and therefore nonpartisan. (Also, Braxton Bragg was a terrible general, even by Confederacy standards).
Trump, speaking to troops in North Carolina, is now attacking ex-governor and Democratic Senate candidate Roy Cooper as a "disaster" who was culpable for a woman getting her "throat slit"
(note the total silence from the crowd)
(note the total silence from the crowd)
February 13, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Again, this is for military families in Fort Bragg. This is ostensibly a military event and therefore nonpartisan. (Also, Braxton Bragg was a terrible general, even by Confederacy standards).
For a guy who hates autism, this man really needs a social filter.
I think RFK Jr. probably snorted cocaine off of a toilet seat as recently as 2 PM.
February 13, 2026 at 7:12 PM
For a guy who hates autism, this man really needs a social filter.
Reposted by Eric Michael Garcia
the Heated Rivalry fandom has done a really remarkable speedrun from a celebration of a fluffy, sexy gay show to calling cast members pedophiles & journalists "klan members" (yes, really) — v excited about @wired.com's blow-by-blow feat interviews w fans on the front lines
The ‘Heated Rivalry’ Fandom Is Tearing Itself Apart
The breakout hockey romance has sparked legions of enthralled fans, along with obsessive, parasocial behavior that’s starting to get called out.
www.wired.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:31 PM
the Heated Rivalry fandom has done a really remarkable speedrun from a celebration of a fluffy, sexy gay show to calling cast members pedophiles & journalists "klan members" (yes, really) — v excited about @wired.com's blow-by-blow feat interviews w fans on the front lines